Fluid-handling apparatus



July 18, 1939. P. s. MORGAN 2,155,530

FLUID-HANDLING APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1lid! A? 5 a 4 4 r H T Z a l /a 4 4c //b INVENTOR I I P027152 5. MaeaA/vATTORNEYS July 18, 1939. R 8. MORGAN 2,166,530

FLUID-HANDLING APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2FIG. 1H

$70,646: a I INVENTOR TANK 02752 6. Maze/w ATTORNEYS y 18, 1939- P. s.MORGAN ,166,530

FLUID-HANDLING APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 18, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4FIG EH1 INVENTOR 100R TEE 5. MUPGA/V ATTORNEYS Patented July 18, 1939UNITED STATES FLUID-HANDLING APPARATUS Porter S. Morgan, New York, N.Y., aslignor, by

ntl, to Bohleber a Ledbetten New York, N. Y., a partnership composed ofWilliam Bohleber, James Camrod Lcdbetter, Francis 11. Fassct, and JohnM. Montstream Application September 18,1935, Serial No. 41,051 RenewedMay 1'1, 1989 lClaim.

This invention relates to pumping apparatus intended primarily forgasoline dispensing systems; and the disclosed apparatus operates bothto pump the gasoline as-required for dispensing and to separate from thegasoline entrained air or other gas. The invention may, however, be usedfor pumping other liquids. and various features of the invention relateto pumping apparatus without regard to the air separation feature.

An object of the invention is to provide, for liquid dispensing systems,fluid handling apparatus which pumps the liquid as required fordispensing and effectively separates out entrained air or other gaswithout requiring the usual air separator unit.

Another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus whichsatisfactorily lends itself to manufacture on a mass production basis.

Another object of the invention is to provide for ready andconvenient'mounting of the pump with self-contained air separator uponthe various frames of the different manufacturers (or assemblers) ofgasoline dispensing systems.

A further object of the invention is to provide a liquid pumpingapparatus which will automatically separate out any quantity ofentrained air whether large or small.

A still further object of the invention is to provide satisfactorygasoline dispensing apparatus which does not require by-passes orfloats.

Fig. I is a fragmentary elevation showing apparatus of the presentinvention mounted upon the supporting frame of a dispensing system.

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section taken on the line II--II of Fig. I.

Fig. III is a view showing structurally the portion of the apparatuswhich will be referred to as the fluid handling unit. Part of thestructure is in elevation and part in central vertical section. Variousattached parts of a complete dispensing system are indicateddiagrammatically.

Fig. IV is a vertical section of the fluid handling unit with the outletvalve omitted.

Fig. V is a horizontal section of the auxiliary pump taken on line V--Vof Fig. IV.

Fig. VI is a plan view of the upper wear plate of the auxiliary pump.

-Fig. VII is a plan view of the lower wear plate of the auxiliary pump.

Fig. VIII is a plan view of the lower casting of the auxiliary pump.

GENERAL Onesmzarron AND Momv'rmo Referring to Figs. I and II, thesupporting frame comprises four vertical channel irons I, I", I9, and I,to which are bolted horizontally arranged arcuate brackets 2, 2", 2 and2. Bolted,.as shown, to the brackets 2', etc. is a U-shaped metalsupport 4 having depending legs 4' and l and on the bottoms of the legsare inwardly pro- ,jecting lips or flanges l9 and 4 Supported on top ofthe U-shaped member! -'and bolted thereto is an electric drive motor 5having a vertical shaft 8 which projects downwardly through the member4. Supported beneath the U-shaped member 4 and designated as a whole by3, is a fluid handling unit composed of quite a number of internal partswhich are housed in various external parts or casings welded and boltedtogether. Shown in Fig. I is a strainer chamber I, main pump chamber 8,auxiliary pumping chamber 9, and discharge valve chamber Ill. Theauxiliary pumping chamber 9 is closed by a cover 9*, secured by bolts9'; and the cover is provided with integral depending stub arms II andII", the ends of which are adapted to engage the lips 4 and 4. Thus inmounting the fluid handling unit 3, it may be supported temporarily bythe engagement of arms li and ll with the lips 4 and 4 Then bolts l2(four shown) may be placed to fixedly secure the unit 3. A coupling l3forms a. driving connection between the motor shaft 6 and shaft M onwhich are mounted the driven elements of both the main pump and theauxiliary pump.

With the frames used by different manufacturers (assemblers) ofdispensing systems there is a variation in the spacing and form ofuprights I, I. l, and I However, the entire structure shown in Fig. Ican be mounted readily on the diiferent frames without any change exceptthe provision of brackets 2, etc. suited to the I particular frame.

Strainer and main pump Strainer chamber 1 and main pumping chamber 8(Fig. I) are formed in an open casting 20 (Fig. IV) which is closed by astamped metal partition 2|. The partition 2| is secured by a series ofbolts 22 and is sealed by a gasket 24. A cylindrical strainer 25 isprovided with an annular head 26 that is adapted to make substantiallyfluid tight engagement with seat 21. Normally the strainer is held inthe position shown in the drawings by the pressure of spring 28 held byremovable cover 29. The cover 29 is sealed by gasket 30; and the coverand strainer can be removed in an obvious manner for the purpose ofcleaning the strainer.

a "sleeve 55 against rotation. Cooperating withArotaryimpellerfliskeyedbykeyfltothe lower end of shaft u and is clampedre lo tudinal movement on the shaft 11 se l i redbylock washer. Theclampingpressure of the nut is received by washer ll. which is heldagainst upward movement by spring ring 2! that grips an annular groovein shaft II. hie impeller includes upper shrouding ll, lower shroudingll. and a series ofhradially extending blades 44. The lower shrouding IImerges into a primary intake port 45, and the upper shrouding mergesinto a secondary intake port ll. An annularly arranged series of holes41 establish communication between secondary intake port It and thebladed area of the impeller. Burrounding the impeller is an annular flowspace or impeller chamber I! having a bottom which descends in thedirection of impeller rotation. The bottom may be considered asbeginning at Ii, continuing at It, and terminating at Ii adjacent todischarge port I]. This configuration facilitates the pumping of largevolumes of liquid with no increase in the over-all diameter of the fluidhandling unit.

Permanently mounted at 2. in casting 2| is a funnel shaped bearingsupport 54. Mixed to this bearing support is a depending bearing sleeve55, having a notched annular flange 56 which is lightly clamped byring". Ring 51 is secured by metal of support it which is swaged over atSI; and fins 54', integral with support 54, enter the notches of flange56 and hold the bearing sleeve 55 is a bearing ring which is permanentlyaflixed to theexterior of the impeller intake port 45. While bearingsleeve 55 is held against rotation by fins 5|", slight sidewise movementof the sleeve is permitted by the clearances provided and the lightclamping by ring 51. Thus in assembling the pump, the sleeve 55 is selfaligning with respect to bearing ring 58. This avoids the necessity forthe troublesome manufacturing accuracy that would otherwise be requiredto obtain perfect alignment.

The partition 2I, which constitutes a cover for the main pumping chamberis so formed that it provides an annular space 59 extending upwardlyfrom the periphery of the impeller 32. Aflixed beneath partition 2I is acup-shaped sheet metal member 60 which provides an'annular passagewayfrom the top of space 59 to a zone adjacent the center portion of theimpeller 32. The partition 2I is formed with an annularly arrangedseries of depressions 62, and at these points member ill is spot welded'to partition 2|. Near the inner edge of member 60 it is provided withannularly arranged drain holes 64.

Auxiliary pump and associated parts For these parts refer primarily toFig. IV and secondarily to Figs. V to VIII.

Theauxiliary pump is built up about a lower casting 65, a centralcasting and an upper casting 61. The lower casting is sealed topartition 2| by a gasket 68 and has a hollow boss 69 which projectsthrough a central aperture in partition 2I and makes a running flt withimpeller intake throat 4G. Aflixed in the casting 65 is a bearingbushing for shaft It. A metal wear plate II, which acts as a bearing forthe lower edges of the blades of the auxiliary pump, is seated in arecess 12 (Fig. VIII) in the upper surface of casting 65 and is sealedby a gasket 13. The main intake to the auxiliary pump is via verticalpassage l5, radial passage 16, arcuate passage 11 Springs such as Illand mouse VIII), and vertical hole ll (Fig. VII) in wear-plate II. Asecondary intake to the auxiliary pump is via vertical passage ll (Fig.VIII), horizontal e II, and vertical hole II (rig. VII) inwearplateII.Inassemblythewearplate II is indexed by a dowel 82 (Fig. VIII) whichcooperates with a hole ll (Fig. VII).

'lhelowercastingliisrecessed atlltoreceive a gasket II which seals adrain valve seat It. From this valve seat a drain passage l|, I, llleads to the upper intake throat of the impeller. A plug ll merelycloses the outer end of passage ll after drilling.

The center casting and pump rotor are shown in Figs. IV and V. Thiscasting has an outer rim I and an interior rim 92, connected together bywebs 93 and 94. Also formed in the casting is a vertical valve chamber95 (Fig. IV) having four lugs 26 (Figs. 1V and V) which serve to centerthe stem of the valve. Pressed inside of the inher rim 82, which iseccentric to shaft I4, is an annular wear member 91 with which the tipsof the pump blades engage. A number of dowels 98 project upwardly anddownwardly from center casting 6i and serve to index the lower easting85 and the lower upper casting 61 when the partsare assembled. Bolts 52(four shown) pass through castings 66 and 61, and are threaded intocasting 65 to hold the parts together.

Mounted within the eccentrically positioned annular wear member 91 is acast pump rotor ll having eight radial slots IIII. Slidably mounted ineach slot I II is a pumping blade III, preferably of compositionmaterial such as a suitable Bakelite product. The rotor 99 is adapted tobe locked to shaft II by spring. pressed pin "2 (Fig. IV) .i It will beseen that this-locking arrangement permits pin "2 to be pushed outwardlyso that the shaft I 4 can be inserted through the hole in the rotor 89.Then when the shaft is so telescoped that the keyway aligns with pin I02, the spring pushes the pin into the keyway and locks the rotor to theshaft.

Upper casting 61 is of more or less skeleton construction with the areasI03, I, I", and I II in communication with one another. A bushing 5!acts as a bearing for shaft I4. I08 press a wear plate II! (see alsoFig. VI) against the upper edges of pump blades IQI. This plate isprovided with a hole I II which receives a dowel to index the plate; andit is also provided with a two part outlet slot II I, I li and apressurerelieving slot 2 (see Figs. V and VI). fluid that is trapped inadvance of the blades III is forced out through slots III, lll into thespace I04, I25. In operation the blades III are biased outwardly bycentrifugal force, but when they are-in the discharge phase they arebeing forced gradually inward by the cam action of ring 91. During thisinward movement slot II2 serves to permit the escape of fluid which maybe trapped in the roots of blade slots I. Die fluid expelled throughslots III, I II and H2 is delivered to the space I" from which gas isexpelled and liquid returned in a way which will be described later.

Mounted in casting 61 is a bushing III, and above the bushing is atubular extension Ill. A valve stem 5 is provided with a washer II thathas small notches in its periphery and makes a sliding fit with bushingI. Above and below washer H6 are spacer weights III and II! which areconfined longitudinally on stem 5 by washers and spring rings as shownin th As the rotor 99 rotates its assembly can be removed by openingcover plate In and removin ug in.

Top bearing and lubrication A reservoir casting I-is provided. with aclosure I26 that is sealed by gasket I21 to the outside cover 8. CastingI25 nests as shown with casting 61 and is secured thereto by screws suchasSI. Ap1ugI28 anddependingflllertube I26 permit the reservoir tobefilled with oil up to the level of the bottom of tube I26. Integralwith the reservoir casting is an annular riser I36 which is soperforated that oil can flow into it. Mounted within the riser I3! is apressed steel metal cone cup I3I and a ball bearingassembly' I32. Asshown in the drawings, the inner race of the ball bearing is confinedlongitudinally on shaft I4 by washers and spring rings, and a springwasher I34 exerts a clamping action. An inverted cup I35 is nestedwithin the cone cup III and mounted to rotate with shaft I4. Dur-, ingrotation of the shaft the cups I3I and I35 act to elevate the oil theslight distance required to lubricate the ball bearing.

Direct flow of oil downwardly around shaft I4 is prevented by tube I36;and leakage is prevented by a sealing gland comprising packing I31 whichis compressedby spring I36. Felt packing II! provides a suillcient sealwhere shaft I4 passes through the top of the bearing chamber. Dischargevalue This is best shown in Fig. III. A valve stem I is biaseddownwardly by spring I and is attached to a valve head I42 to which isclamped a valve disk I43. Clamped with disk I43 is a pan-like memberI44, but only disk I43 engages valve seat I45. It will be understoodthat when the pump is incorporated in the usual dispensing system,outlet I46 is connected by piping to a metering device which dischargesinto a flexible dispensing hose having acut-oif valve at its free end.In Fig. III, these parts are indicated diagrammatically, IIII being thepiping, I'll the metering device, I12 the flexible hose and I13 the hosevalve. With the system standing idle and valve I43 closed, an increaseof temperature will result in pressure being built up in the flexiblehose and connecting piping; and check valve I41 permits reverse flow asrequired to relieve such pressure. An adjustable detent I46 limits thedegree of valve opening; and closure I46 has an end formation I56 whichpermits it to be used as a wrench'to adjust the detent.

Operation When the pump is incorporated in a complete dispensing systemready to operate, inlet 3| is connected by piping with a subterraneanstorage tank. These are indicated diagrammatically in Fig. III as pipingI15 and tank I16. Also an air discharge pipe replaces plug 3'! (Fig.III).

Operation of the motor 5 results in rotation of impeller 32 and also inrotation of rotor 69 of the auxiliary pump. Until primed the impeller 32is ineffective, but the auxiliary pump primes the impeller bywithdrawing air through impeller holes 41 into inlet passage I5. As soonas the liquid reaches the impeller 32, the impeller commences tofunction as a centrifugal pump and delivers liquid under pressure todischarge valve unit II.

When the valve at the end of the dispensing hose is opened, the pressureof the liquid opens valve I41 and liquid is disp s When the dispensinghose valve is closed, the flow is forced to cease and spring I closesvalve I43, but impeller 32 may be kept in operation without causing anydamage. At the instant that the dispensing hose valve is opened, thefull static pressure built up by impellerfl acts on valve disk I42 toopen the valve. As soon as flow commences, the resultant pressure ondisk I43 diminishes, but the flow is then effective on the entire areaof pan member I44. Thus, the valve is held well open, without flutter,as long as the flow continues. As a result this discharge valve offerslittle flow resistance during dispensing and the impeller is enabled to.deliver a copious discharge of liquid.

As the impeller-pumps liquid with entrained gas, the gas iscentrifugally separated due to the great difference in specific gravityof gas and liquid. The gas tends to stay adjacent to the hub of theimpeller and is continuously drawn off (through holes 41) by theauxiliary pump. Under some conditiohs, the initial centrifugalseparation of the gas may notbe one hundred per cent perfect, with theresult that in such case some.

gas is discharged by the impeller 32. Any such gas collects in theannular space 59, from which it passes behind shield 60 and out throughholes 64. This movement of gas from area 59 is due to the liquidpressure built up by the impeller in the space below area 58, plus thefact that holes 64 are at a low pressure area due to the whirlinginfluence of the impeller 32. The air or gas particles tend to hug thecenter of the impeller and are forced by the pressure built up byimpeller 32 to pass between the running fit of parts 69 and 46 to thelow pressure area within port 69. Normally the running fit between parts69 and 46 furnishes a suflicient passage from the exterior to theinterior of throat 46, but if desired special bleeder passages may beprovided from the inside to the outside of throat 46. Thus any gas whichgets through the impeller is returned to'a point where it is under theinfluence of the auxiliary pump and is drawn off.

Of course, some liquid is also drawn in bythe auxiliary pump, so thatthis pump will eventually flll with liquid and discharge both liquid andgas. From discharge space I06 the gas passes through the notches inwasher II6, to passage I45, and thence to space I46 which communicateswith the air outlet pipe that is substituted for plug 31 (Fig. 111).

The notches in washer II6 can pass a very large quantity of gas, butonly a very small quantity of liquid. When liquid accumulates to thepoint where it is trying to pass washer II6, it raises the washer andlifts the drain valve from its seat 86. This permits liquid to drainback through passageway 81, 88, 89; and the major portion of suchreturned liquid passes through holes 41 and is added to the liquidstream of impeller 32. If any liquid passes out through passageway I45,it collects on top of partition 2I and is picked up again by theauxiliary pump through secondary intake port 19 (Fig. VIII).

The present invention has been put into practical commercial service andhas been found to function very effectively. In pumping liquid thedisclosed organization utilizes to advantage the desirablecharacteristics of a centrifugal pump. It also automatically separatesout any quantity of entrained gas with unusual completeness,

though special air separators and all floats have been eliminated. Incompliance with the patent statutes I have disclosed the best form inwhich I have contemplated applying my invention, but as variousmodifications and mutations are possible, the disclosure is to beconsideredas iilusaperture adjacent to the shaft of the impeller;

and an auxiliary pump mounted on the shaft and an inlet communicatingwith the impeller casing through said aperture in said closure, and anoutlet 4 into a separating chamber, an air outlet port leading toatmosphere. from said separating chamber, and a float-valve controlledliquid outlet. passage leading from said separating chamber to saidimpeller casing 1 through said closure aperture.

. PORTER S. MORGAN.

' on top of said closure, the auxiliary pump having

